Resiliently mounted dry wall partition for building structures



March 21, 1967 D. L. ZlNN 3,309,826

RESILIENTLY MOUNTED DRY WALL PARTITION FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES FiledJan. 24, 1964 V a z2 /5 4 4 7 WW 4-) R24 i r-2s L a 26 36 j 2? a 24 g 1*L@ 33/ Ll F163 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofi ice 3,389,828Patented Mar. 21, 1967 3,309 826 RESHJIENTLY MOUNTED DRY WALL PARTITIONFOR BUILDING STRUCTURES Daniel L. Zinn, 8881 Central Ave., Warren, Mich.48204 Filed Jan. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 340,032 3 Claims. (Cl. 52241) Thepresent invention relates to dry wall partitions such as are used inbuilding structures normally employing concrete floors and ceilings.

Heretofore, in constructions of this type due to the rigidity of thefloor and ceiling and sway or bending of the building due to wind orweather conditions is productive of cracking of the plastered wallpartitions.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a nonload bearingdry wall partition construction for buildings wherein means are providedfor eliminating cracking.

It is another object to provide a non-cracking dry wall partitionconstruction for buildings employing floor and ceilings tracks and withthe partition elements positioned and supported and retained between thesaid tracks and with means for providing a resilient connection betweenthe partition elements and the floor and ceiling.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specificationand claims in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section of a wall partition inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of a slightly differentconstruction.

It will be understood that the above drawing illustrates merely apreferred embodiment of the invention, and that other embodiments arecontemplated within the scope of the claims hereafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing the concrete floor and ceiling of a buildingare generally indicated at 11 and 12, and the non-load bearing wallpartition at 13. An elongated floor track 14 is mounted upon and extendsalong floor 11 and is secured thereto by fasteners 15. The floor trackincludes bottom plate 16 and the reverse turned flattened members 17which terminate in the upright spaced flanges 18 and 19 of differentheights.

A similar elongated ceiling track 29 of the same construction as track14 is mounted adjacent to and extends along ceiling 12 and is securedthereto by fasteners 15, being directly above floor track 14 and alsoincluding the pair of pending spaced flanges 18 and 19.

The elongated metal partition cap 22 is mounted upon and extends alongceiling 12 and is secured thereto by fasteners 23 directly above floortrack 14. Said cap includes the pair of spaced depending channel flanges25 whose ends are reversed turned upwardly at 26. Flanges 25 are spacedoutwardly of and parallel to the respective upper ceiling track flanges18 and 19, FIG. 1.

An elongated compressible resilient gasket 21 constructed of rubber,artificial rubber, neoprene, or resilient plastic material, is securedbetween cap 22 and the celling track 20. Edge portions of partition 22are vertically displaced at 24, FIG. 1, to define elongated groovesadjacent ceiling 12 within which is inserted a suitable caulkingcompound 27 finishing assembly at the ceiling.

A suitable supporting medium is inter-posed between the respectiveflanges 18 and 19 of the floor ceiling tracks, as best shown in FIGS. 1and 3. For example, in FIG. 1 the supporting medium is in the form of aseries of longitudinally spaced metal channels 28 of general U-shape,including opposed side walls 29 and inturned flanges 30, FIG. 2. Theseries of longitudinally spaced channels 28 are interposed betweentracks 14 and 20 with their respective top and bottom edges snuglynested and retained between the pairs of ceiling and floor track flanges18 and 19.

A suitable wall board 31 is mounted upon and interposed between theouter edge portions 17 of the respective tracks and bears against therespective flanges 18 and 19 and is secured to the supporting medium,namely the series of channels 28, by a series of sheet metal screws 32.These project through the gypsum board or wall boards 31 and arethreaded through walls 29 of the channels, FIG. 2. In the illustrationembodiment, the gypsum board is in the nature of a solid body of gypsumhaving upon its outer surfaces a layer of still paper 33.

In FIG. 1, the gypsum boards 31 on both sides of partition 13 at theirupper ends are projected up into the partition cap 22 and bear againstthe interior surfaces of channel flanges 25.

In finishing the assembly, FIG. 1, normally a joint compound is firstapplied to the outer surface of the gypsum board or other wall board 31,after which a perforated tape in sheets, as at 34, is applied to theouter surfaces. This tape may extend over the entire surface of the wallboard or may extend merely over those portions which represent lines ofcontact between adjacent longitudinally aligned wall boards, as in FIG.2, and over the fastening screws for concealing the same.

With the use of the compressible resilient gasket 21, a yieldingrelationship is established between the dry wall partition and therespective floor and ceiling so that with swaying or slight bendingmovements of the building there will be no cracking of the non-loadbearing dry wall partition. 1

As shown in FIG. 1, there is a dead air space provided, as at 35,between the interior portions of partition cap 22 and upper track 21) toacoustically isolate one side of the partition from the other.

A variation of the present construction is shown in FIG. 3 wherein againfloor track 14 and ceiling track 20 are of the same construction, as isalso the elongated metal partition cap 25.

The primary difference in partition 36 is the central supporting meanswhich is one or more longitudinally aligned upright core boards 37.

In this case an elongated filler strip 38, preferably of wood or othermaterial, is mounted within floor track 14 between flanges 18 and 19 andprovides a support for the central upright core board 37. Respective topand bottom edges of the said core board are positioned within therespective parallel spaced flanges 18 and .19 of the two tracks forsupporting the central core board in the upright position shown. A deadair space 39 is provided above the core board adjacent the ceilingtrack.

The flanges 18 of the respective tracks 14, 21) are shorter than flanges19 thereof to provide an entrant opening to facilitate the insertion ofthe core board in the assembly shown in FIG. 3.

The core board 37 used may be of various constructions generallyavailable on the market and normally includes a fibrous or otherhardened material or may be a body of gypsum having outer papercoverings such as described with respect to the gypsum boards 31 of FIG.1.

Mounted upon opposite sides of core board 37, FIG. 3, are the uprightlongitudinally aligned gypsum boards 40 which are snugly interposedbetween the respective tracks 14 and 2t) and bear against the outersurfaces of the respective flanges 18 and 19 and are suitably secured byan adhesive, or other means. Here again the gypsum boards may be of thesame construction as above described with respect to FIG. 1, namely acentral body of gypsum with outer paper surface coverings as at 33.

As in FIG. 1, the partition cap is vertically displaced at 24 at itsends and a suitable caulking compound 27 is projected in the spacedefined between said cap and the ceiling to complete the assembly.

Again as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a suitable joint compound is normallyapplied to the outer surface of the gypsum boards 40 finishing ofi thesame after which a sheet of perforated tape is applied thereto as at 34,FIG. 2, for covering the lines between adjacent gypsum panels 40 and forcovering any fastening means which may be employed.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a wall partition for use between a concrete floor and ceiling of abuilding;

an elongated floor track upon and extending along the floor securedthereto and including a pair of upright spaced flanges;

an elongated metal partition cap upon and extending along the ceilingsecured thereto directly above the floor track and including a pair ofspaced depending channel flanges;

an elongated ceiling track adjacent to and extending along the ceilingnested within said cap and secured thereto directly above the floortrack including a pair of spaced depending flanges;

an elongated compressible resilient gasket interposed and securedbetween said cap and ceiling track;

a longitudinally disposed upright support medium interposed between saidtracks with its respective top and bottom edges snugly nested andretained between said pairs of ceiling and floor track flanges; and

wall boards bearing against the floor and ceiling track flanges securedto said support medium and interposed between the floor and ceilingtracks, and with the upper edge of said wall boards nested within andengaging said cap channel flanges.

2. In the Wall partition of claim r1, said support medium being in theform of a series of upright longitudinally spaced metal channels snuglyinterposed between said tracks;

the securing of said wall boards including screw means extending throughthe wall boards and threaded into said channels.

3. In the partition of claim 1, said support medium being an uprightcore board snugly nested and supported between said tracks; and

means securing the wall boards respectively to said core board.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,259 2/1935Walters 52240 2,381,635 8/1945 Baker 52-241 3,017,672 1/1962 Vaughan52241 3,133,322 5/1964 Douglas 52-240 X FRANK L. ABBOTT, PrimaryExaminer.

A. B. WILLIAMS, A. C. PERHAM, Assistant Examinars.

1. IN A WALL PARTITION FOR USE BETWEEN A CONCRETE FLOOR AND CEILING OF ABUILDING; AN ELONGATED FLOOR TRACK UPON AND EXTENDING ALONG THE FLOORSECURED THERETO AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF UPRIGHT SPACED FLANGES; ANELONGATED METAL PARTITION CAP UPON AND EXTENDING ALONG THE CEILINGSECURED THERETO DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FLOOR TRACK AND INCLUDING A PAIR OFSPACED DEPENDING CHANNEL FLANGES; AN ELONGATED CEILING TRACK ADJACENT TOAND EXTENDING ALONG THE CEILING NESTED WITHIN SAID CAP AND SECUREDTHERETO DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FLOOR TRACK INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACEDDEPENDING FLANGES; AN ELONGATED COMPRESSIBLE RESILIENT GASKET INTERPOSEDAND SECURED BETWEEN SAID CAP AND CEILING TRACK; A LONGITUDINALLYDISPOSED UPRIGHT SUPPORT MEDIUM INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID TRACKS WITH ITSRESPECTIVE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES SNUGLY NESTED AND RETAINED BETWEEN SAIDPAIRS OF CEILING AND FLOOR TRACK FLANGES; AND WALL BOARDS BEARINGAGAINST THE FLOOR AND CEILING TRACK FLANGES SECURED TO SAID SUPPORTMEDIUM AND INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE FLOOR AND CEILING TRACKS, AND WITH THEUPPER EDGE OF SAID WALL BOARDS NESTED WITHIN AND ENGAGING SAID CAPCHANNEL FLANGES.